The Shade Guide
Our Articles
Plain-English guides to medical window tint exemptions: who qualifies, how they help, how tint is measured, and what to do once you have one.
Guides
Medical Window Tint Exemptions: A Complete Guide for Drivers
What a medical window tint exemption is, who may qualify, how the physician review works, and what to keep in your car. A plain-English guide for U.S. drivers.
Read article 5 min read
Guides
How to Choose the Best Medical Window Tint Exemption Service
What to look for in a medical window tint exemption service: state-licensed physicians, a real medical review, clear pricing, and a certificate that's easy to verify and keep.
Read article 4 min read
Guides
Benefits of a Medical Window Tint Exemption: 7 Problems It Can Help You Avoid
How a medical window tint exemption can help light-sensitive drivers avoid flare-ups, painful glare, heat, tint tickets, and stressful traffic stops.
Read article 4 min read
Tint basics
Window Tint Percentages Explained: What VLT Means and How It's Measured
What VLT means, how dark 5%, 20%, 35%, and 50% tint really are, how factory glass and film combine, and how officers measure tint during a traffic stop.
Read article 4 min read
Conditions
Medical Conditions That May Qualify for a Window Tint Exemption
Lupus, porphyria, albinism, sun allergies, and other light-sensitive conditions that may qualify for a medical window tint exemption, and how physicians decide.
Read article 4 min read
Sun protection
Does Car Window Tint Block UV Rays? What Sun-Sensitive Drivers Should Know
How much UV gets through car windows, why side windows matter more than the windshield, and what window film can and can't do for sun-sensitive drivers.
Read article 4 min read
Guides
How to Get a Medical Tint Exemption Online, Step by Step
How an online medical window tint evaluation works: what to prepare, how the physician review works, what you receive, and what to do after you're approved.
Read article 4 min read
Driving
Driving With a Medical Tint Exemption: Traffic Stops, Inspections, and Road Trips
What to do if you're pulled over with dark tint and a medical exemption, how inspections work, and what to know before you drive across state lines.
Read article 3 min read
Driving
What Happens If Your Window Tint Is Too Dark? Tickets, Fines, and Fixes
What to expect if you're cited for illegal window tint, how tint tickets are usually resolved, and how drivers with a medical need can get darker tint legally.
Read article 4 min read
Conditions
Lupus and Car Window Tint: How to Reduce UV Exposure While Driving
Why people with lupus are often told to limit UV exposure, how much UV gets through car windows, and how window film and a medical tint exemption can help.
Read article 3 min read
Conditions
Window Tint for Migraines and Light Sensitivity: What Drivers Should Know
How bright sun and glare affect drivers with migraine and photophobia, what window tint can and can't do, and when a medical tint exemption may help.
Read article 3 min read
Conditions
Albinism and Car Window Tint: Protecting Skin and Eyes on the Road
Why people with albinism are especially sensitive to sun and glare, how car windows let UV through, and how UV film and a medical tint exemption can help.
Read article 3 min read
Conditions
Porphyria and Car Window Tint: Getting a Medical Exemption
Porphyria can make sunlight through a car window painful in minutes. See how a medical tint exemption helps and how ShadedMD approves drivers online.
Read article 5 min read
Conditions
Xeroderma Pigmentosum and Car Window Tint: What Drivers Need
Xeroderma pigmentosum makes every ray of UV a cancer risk. See how a medical tint exemption protects XP drivers and how ShadedMD issues one online.
Read article 5 min read
Conditions
Skin Cancer History and Car Window Tint: Do You Qualify?
A history of melanoma, basal cell, or squamous cell carcinoma may qualify you for darker tint. See how ShadedMD physicians review skin cancer cases online.
Read article 5 min read
Conditions
Vitiligo and Car Window Tint: Can You Get a Medical Exemption?
Vitiligo skin has no melanin and burns fast through a car window. Learn when vitiligo qualifies for a medical tint exemption and how ShadedMD helps online.
Read article 5 min read
Conditions
Solar Urticaria and Car Window Tint: Hives From Sunlight
Solar urticaria causes hives within minutes of sunlight, even through car glass. See why it qualifies for a tint exemption and how ShadedMD approves you online.
Read article 5 min read
Conditions
Photophobia and Car Window Tint: Can Light Sensitivity Qualify for a Medical Exemption?
Photophobia can make daytime driving painful. Learn how light sensitivity relates to medical tint exemptions and how ShadedMD's physicians review cases online.
Read article 5 min read
Conditions
Cataracts and Car Window Tint: Glare, Driving, and Medical Exemptions
Cataracts scatter light and cause glare while driving. See when cataracts may support a medical window tint exemption and how ShadedMD reviews cases online.
Read article 5 min read
Medications
Doxycycline Photosensitivity and Car Window Tint: What Drivers Should Know
Doxycycline can make skin burn through a car window. Learn why, how UV-blocking window tint helps, and how to get evaluated online for a medical tint exemption.
Read article 6 min read
Medications
Isotretinoin (Accutane) and Car Window Tint: Sun Sensitivity While Driving
Isotretinoin can make skin burn and sting more easily, even while driving. See how window tint helps and how to get evaluated online for a tint exemption.
Read article 5 min read
Medications
Medications That Cause Sun Sensitivity: A List for Drivers
Antibiotics, diuretics, acne drugs, NSAIDs and antidepressants can cause sun reactions through a car window. See the main drug classes and how tint can help.
Read article 5 min read
Medications
Sunscreen vs. Window Tint While Driving: Which Protects You Better?
Sunscreen wears off and gets forgotten. Window tint works every trip. Compare the two for photosensitive drivers and learn when darker tint needs an exemption.
Read article 5 min read
Guides
How to Renew a Medical Tint Exemption
When a medical tint exemption expires, how to renew without a gap, and what changes if your state issues its own permit. A ShadedMD renewal starts online.
Read article 5 min read
Guides
What Happens If Your Tint Exemption Is Denied?
Why a medical tint exemption gets denied, what your options are afterward, and how ShadedMD's 30-day money-back guarantee protects you if the doctor says no.
Read article 5 min read
Guides
Tint Exemptions for Passengers and Family Members
Can a child, spouse, or parent with a light-sensitive condition get a tint exemption for a car they ride in but do not drive? How it works, with ShadedMD.
Read article 5 min read
Guides
Tint Exemptions for Leased and Rental Cars
Can you tint a leased car under a medical exemption, and what about rentals? Lease terms, removal at turn-in, and how a ShadedMD certificate travels with you.
Read article 6 min read
Tint basics
How Police Measure Window Tint at a Traffic Stop
How officers meter VLT at the roadside, why factory glass counts, and how a physician-signed medical exemption can help drivers who need darker tint.
Read article 5 min read
Tint basics
Front Windshield Tint Rules and the AS-1 Line
What the AS-1 line on your windshield means, why windshield tint is so restricted, and what a ShadedMD medical exemption can do for light-sensitive drivers.
Read article 5 min read
Tint basics
Factory Tint vs Aftermarket Tint: What Drivers Should Know
Factory privacy glass and aftermarket film are not the same. How each affects your legal VLT and UV protection, and what a ShadedMD medical exemption changes.
Read article 5 min read
Tint basics
Window Tint and Vehicle Inspections: Will You Pass?
How state safety inspections check window tint, why cars fail, and how a physician-signed medical exemption can help qualifying drivers pass.
Read article 4 min read
Driving
Remove Your Tint or Get an Exemption? How to Decide
Got a tint ticket or failed inspection? Compare tint removal against a $129 ShadedMD medical exemption evaluation and see which fits a driver with light sensitivity.
Read article 5 min read
Compare
Online Tint Exemption vs. In-Person Doctor: Which Is Better?
Compare getting a medical tint exemption online with ShadedMD versus an in-person doctor visit: cost, speed, paperwork, and what each option actually gives you.
Read article 5 min read
Compare
Tint Shop Medical Letters vs. a Physician Certificate: What Counts?
Tint shops sometimes hand out medical letters. Learn why states expect a certificate signed by a licensed physician, like the one ShadedMD issues online.
Read article 5 min read
Compare
Ceramic vs. Dyed vs. Carbon Tint for Light Sensitivity
Which film works best for photosensitivity, migraines, or UV-sensitive skin? Compare ceramic, dyed, and carbon tint, then pair it with a ShadedMD exemption.
Read article 4 min read
Compare
Best Tint Percentage for Light Sensitivity: How Dark Should You Go?
How dark should your tint be for photophobia, migraines, or a UV-sensitive condition? A practical VLT guide, and how a ShadedMD exemption lets you go darker.
Read article 5 min read
Compare
How Much Does a Medical Tint Exemption Cost in 2026?
A clear breakdown of medical tint exemption costs: physician fees, state fees, film, and renewal. ShadedMD charges a flat $129 with a money-back guarantee.
Read article 4 min read
About ShadedMD
Is ShadedMD Legit? An Honest Look at How the Service Works
Is ShadedMD legit? Yes. Licensed U.S. physicians review every case, the certificate is signed, and a 30-day money-back guarantee covers you if not approved.
Read article 6 min read
About ShadedMD
ShadedMD vs Other Tint Exemption Services: What to Compare
How ShadedMD compares to other online tint exemption services on what you can verify: state-licensed physicians, a flat $129 price, stated turnaround, and refunds.
Read article 6 min read
About ShadedMD
ShadedMD Pricing and Refund Policy: $129 Flat, 30-Day Guarantee
ShadedMD costs a flat $129, charged once at checkout, with no subscriptions or hidden fees. If the physician cannot approve you, you get a full refund.
Read article 4 min read
About ShadedMD
What Is ShadedMD? The Online Medical Tint Exemption Service Explained
ShadedMD is an online telehealth service where state-licensed physicians review a 5-minute questionnaire and decide whether to sign a medical tint exemption certificate.
Read article 5 min read
About ShadedMD
The ShadedMD Certificate: What You Get and How to Use It
What a ShadedMD tint exemption certificate includes: the physician's signature and license number, a Recommendation ID, 1-year validity, and a printable PDF.
Read article 5 min read
State guides
Florida Medical Window Tint Exemption: How It Works
How Florida's medical window tint exemption works, what form HSMV 83390 is, who signs it, and how ShadedMD's physician review fits in. Plain-English guide.
Read article 5 min read
State guides
New York Medical Window Tint Exemption: Form MV-80W Explained
How New York's medical window tint exemption works, what form MV-80W is, and how ShadedMD's online physician review delivers certification in 24 to 48 hours.
Read article 4 min read
State guides
Georgia Medical Window Tint Exemption: Form DPS-431 Guide
How Georgia's medical window tint exemption works, what form DPS-431 is, and how ShadedMD's online physician review delivers a certificate in 24 to 48 hours.
Read article 4 min read
State guides
Texas Medical Window Tint Exemption: What Drivers Need in 2026
How the Texas medical tint exemption works: no state certificate since 2019, just a signed physician statement in the car. ShadedMD delivers it in 24 to 48 hrs.
Read article 4 min read
State guides
California Medical Window Tint Exemption: What Is Actually Allowed
California's medical tint provision is limited: a removable sun screen on front windows with a physician's letter, daylight only. What ShadedMD can do there.
Read article 5 min read
Guides
States That Require a DMV Form for a Tint Exemption
Some states require a state or DMV form for a medical tint exemption; others accept the physician's certificate alone. How to tell which, with ShadedMD's help.
Read article 4 min read
Guides
Conditions That Usually Do Not Qualify for a Tint Exemption
Preference, privacy, heat, and cosmetic reasons do not qualify for a medical tint exemption. What does, what does not, and why ShadedMD refunds if not approved.
Read article 5 min read
Looking for your state's rules?
Tint limits, forms, and renewal rules differ by state. Find your state or read the FAQ.